1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bucket for use on a mechanical ditch digging apparatus.
More specifically, the invention relates to a bucket for use on an apparatus of the Gradall (trademark) type or a backhoe equipped with an extensible boom, which can be rotated through 180.degree. around its longitudinal axis.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
When a road is cut in the side of a hill or mountain, drainage ditches are usually required to carry away water flowing down the hill or mountain towards the road. Such ditches usually have a V-shaped cross-sectional configuration which tends to concentrate water into a small area of the ditch increasing the likelihood of erosion. With a view to reducing or preventing erosion, it is preferable that the bottom of drainage ditches be round so that the flow of water is spread over a great area.
Round bottom ditches have conventionally been cut using backhoes or other digging apparatuses. The apparatus is parked on the shoulder of a road, the boom is extended toward the proposed ditch area, and a square sided bucket attached to the outer end of the boom is extended toward such area. The bucket is dropped into the soil and curled inwardly and the boom is simultaneously retracted. The process is repealed two or three times. During the first pass or passes, the soil is cut, and the last pass serves to clear the cut soil. Completion of the passes may be considered as a cycle, and with each cycle a ditch segment the width of the bucket is completed. Conventional buckets are approximately five feet wide, and accordingly each cycle produces approximately five feet of ditch. At the usual speeds, a round bottomed ditch can be produced at a rate of approximately 50 lineal meters per hour.
The conventional round bottom ditch digging method described above suffers from the disadvantage that the simultaneous curl and retraction of the boom must be controlled very accurately which can be difficult for an inexperienced operator. If the curl and retraction are not accurately controlled, the ditch may be overcut resulting in undermining and premature ditch erosion. Moreover, in order to cut a round bottom ditch using the conventional method, the body of the digging apparatus must be swung out into the roadway which results in a hazard to traffic passing on the roadway.